This is the fourth in a series, but hey, who said we had to start at the beginning? Besides, this is the required Rock Fiction entry into a series about brothers, so why NOT start in the middle? After all, we do Rock Fiction over here, not series fiction.

Here’s what This Is Our Song is about:

She knows him by reputation
Riley Shaughnessy knew that to stand out in his large family, he’d have to go big. Making a name for himself as a musician wasn’t easy, but he followed his dreams to rock-star success. But the relentless expectations of fans is not helping the slump he’s in now. So of course the person who attracts him is the woman who is not impressed by fame.

Which gives Riley Shaughnessy a lot to prove
Entertainment reporter Savannah Daly is completely unfazed by pretty-boy rock stars. She’s just here to get her interview and write her story. But spending an entire month with the Shaughnessys is going to show Savannah a side of Riley she never could have guessed.

On the surface, this is familiar stuff. Guy finds inspiration. She’s not interested. She’s a reporter, sent to get her story.

So what’s the attraction? HOW it’s done, of course. And this series has good reviews — I looked at numbers but didn’t read any — so you’d think the execution’s going to be good.

Here’s the Rock Fiction entry into an otherwise not-Rock Fiction series. It’s the third in the series, and I don’t think you have to have read the earlier books to pick this one up. The descriptions seem, from a quick glance, to all be about different people.

Can a love built on secrets survive?

Rugged, hot, and rock hard, Dred Zander is exactly the type of man that normally sends Pixie running. Not dreaming about running her hands down his washboard abs…and lower. The lead singer and guitarist for the band Preload embodies trouble behind his quick smile and guarded eyes, and Pixie left trouble behind her years ago along with the name Sarah Jane Travers and the pathetic trailer her mom called home. With her abusive past in her past, she has a new life, a new family at Second Circle, and a dream of opening her own business. She needs capital and time. What she doesn’t need is a tempting long-haired rocker or the paparazzi that follow him around.

But Dred has other ideas. Pixie’s sweet hazel eyes, purple hair and kaleidoscopic tattoo of exotic flowers that swirl up her arm haunt his dreams, and he knows she wants him too. He just has to convince her. But as a juicy exposé threatens to expose their pasts, and a blackmailer terrorizes their present, Pixie and Dred have to decide what really matters and fight like hell to keep it.

This one’s gonna come down to how well the characters are drawn, so… let’s see how well the characters are drawn. Bring it on!

This is the second in a series, but it’s the only Rock Fiction entry (so far; the third was just released on Valentine’s Day, so who knows how many more there will be?). Sounds pretty solid.

Jenny Dawson moved to Nashville to write music, not get famous. But when her latest record goes double platinum, Jenny’s suddenly one of the town’s biggest stars—and the center of a tabloid scandal connecting her with a pop star she’s barely even met. With paparazzi tracking her every move, Jenny flees to a remote mansion in Louisiana to write her next album. The only hiccup is the unexpected presence of a brooding young caretaker named Noah, whose foul mouth and snap judgments lead to constant bickering—and serious heat.

Noah really should tell Jenny that he’s Preston Noah Maxwell Walcott, the owner of the estate where the feisty country singer has made her spoiled self at home. But the charade gives Noah a much-needed break from his own troubles, and before long, their verbal sparring is indistinguishable from foreplay. But as sizzling nights give way to quiet pillow talk, Noah begins to realize that Jenny’s almost as complicated as he is. To fit into each other’s lives, they’ll need the courage to face their problems together—before the outside world catches up to them.

This reminds me of something else I read recently, Dream Maker — but only because we have new kids to Nashville who want to be songwriters, not performers. After that, the stories each take their own path.

But here’s a thing. In the first paragraph, she’s a songwriter — or so it seems. “to write music, not get famous.” That says to me she’s there to write songs, not get famous. The way to get famous is to sing those songs.

But in the next paragraph, she’s now a “feisty country singer.”

So which is it? And most important, does the Rock Fiction get lost when the love interest shows up?

So I’m confused and as usual, there’s only one way to find out… gotta read this puppy.

You know, I can’t decide how I feel about books that wind up being the token Rock Fiction entry into a series. On the one hand, it’s a great way to expose non-Rock Fiction readers to our amazing category. But on the other, they have a greater chance of not breathing music the way the best Rock Fiction does. So are these books really showing the magic and pull of Rock Fiction?

After weeks on a sold-out tour, singer Cady Ward is coming home for the holidays. But after one too many episodes of fan-craziness, Cady’s manager decides that she needs protection—in the form of muscled cop Conn McCormick. Longing for peace and quiet to prepare before her next album drops, Cady doesn’t need a bodyguard just to deal with some vague email threats…though she can’t deny that close proximity to Conn’s body is a very nice place to be.

Conn is in the midst of a career scandal when his boss assigns him to pop-star guard duty. It’s a poor use of his skills, even though Cady’s feisty nature proves the perfect distraction for Conn while Internal Affairs investigates his case. What begins as a sizzling attraction becomes something deeper than either Conn or Cady could have expected. But when Conn uncovers the sinister plan behind the threats to Cady, he’s faced with a professional dilemma: To save her life, will he risk having a future with the only woman who’s ever touched his soul?

But this book might be coming at it from a different angle. After all, Cady isn’t on the road (or so the back cover says), so that takes that element out of the picture. And the series is about the Black Ops dudes, so that suggests this is more the hero’s story than the heroine’s. Which is also cool. I mean, I love men. Why wouldn’t I love reading about them?

As always, it’s all about the execution, so bring this one on and let’s see how it executes. Or better yet, represents Rock Fiction. AND makes my knees weak. I love it when a good romance can make my knees weak.

This is the fifth book in a series, and it’s the only Rock Fiction in it. The other books sound good — although the sports romance uses the working for the band trope, so be warned. You guys know how I feel about falling for your employer/employees/coworker/the hot stud you’re there to promote to the world.

But that’s not this book, so let’s talk about this one:

Harper Laurence has been jilted on her way to the altar. Desperate for some time away from her friends and family, Harper takes off for Nashville—only to meet a hot, scruffy, tattooed stranger. A man she liked a little too much, and who left her the teeniest bit . . . well, pregnant.

Liam James is an up-and-coming country musician, who just found his muse. Ever since their weekend together, Liam hasn’t been able to forget the curvy, vivacious woman who left him wanting more, even as she inspired some of the greatest songs he’s ever written. He’s determined to convince Harper that he’s the guy for her . . . and that the best love songs can never be unsung.

You find one trope, you find ’em all… but the way this is written makes me curious how it’s handled. Does she try to hide it from him? Did the rubber break? (always a question anymore, since so many readers get their knickers in a twist — heh — if no rubbers are mentioned.)

The description doesn’t say all that much except this could be a fun ride. Bring it!

At least the format of this one’s different, so I guess it continues our theme of different. It’s the second book in a series, although the first and it looks like the third have nothing to do with Rock Fiction.

Here’s the storyline:

The long-awaited follow-up novel to the runaway New York Times bestseller Just One Night—which Publishers Weekly gave a starred review and proclaimed, “Davis skillfully creates an uplifting story in which sex is presented both as freedom and as a metaphor for power, and where raw chemistry is the clear winner over bland complacency.”

In the instant international sensation Just One Night, sensible Kasie Fitzgerald unleashed her passions—and found herself—through an explosive affair. In Just One Lie, we meet Kasie’s wild and tortured sister, whose impulsivity and lack of self-control has set off a chain of events that changes her family forever.

Melody Fitzgerald is the opposite of the “perfect” daughter. The lead singer of an indie rock band, she is impulsive and creative, with a rebellious streak that both defines her and becomes her greatest enemy. Her lover, the enticing and unpredictable Ash, shares her free spirit and penchant for trouble. On the face of it, he seems to be her perfect match.

So why is she so drawn to her soft spoken, reliable drummer, Brad Witmer? How can a man who wears polo shirts and reads the financial section of the paper be of any interest to her at all? And why on earth does someone like that appear to be so captivated by her?

Before she knows it, Melody finds herself on a path of self-discovery, passion, and affairs of the heart. But will a dark secret from her past derail it all? Or will its exposure be the very thing that unburdens her heart and allows her to seek a future with the one man who loves her completely?

I like that the female love interest is the wild child and the singer. I’ve read criticism about there not being enough women rockers in the Rock Fiction world. Yes, men definitely dominate. But are there enough women? That’s for you to decide.

Beyond that, though, this kinda ticks the boxes off, doesn’t it?

But the first book sure good some good reviews. And I like the idea of someone with no self-control as the heroine. They can be hard to like because we have more sense than they do, so you’re reading and it’s all uggg…. really?

So I want to see how Kyra Davis pulls off this sort of lead. I want to see why the first got such high marks. And I want to see if the execution rises above the kinda typical plot.

As Rock Fiction gets more popular, I bet we’re going to be seeing more of this: books that are part of a series but only one here or there is Rock Fiction even though the series itself isn’t. “A smattering,” Susan would say.

I say bring it.

Today’s coveting (Yo, Trolls: that means I wanna read it) is one of those. Which I’m sure you guessed because if it wasn’t, why write that intro?

Here goes:

Aaron Seavers is a pathetic mess, and he knows it. He lives in terror of incurring his father’s wrath and disappointing his mother, and he can’t stop dithering about where to go to college—with fall term only weeks away. Ditched by a friend at a miserable summer farewell party, all he can do is get drunk in the laundry room and regret he was ever born. Until a geeky-cute classmate lifts his spirits, leaving him confident of two things: his sexual orientation, and where he’s headed to school.

Giles Mulder can’t wait to get the hell out of Oak Grove, Minnesota, and off to college, where he plans to play his violin and figure out what he wants to be when he grows up. But when Aaron appears on campus, memories of hometown hazing threaten what he’d hoped would be his haven. As the semester wears on, their attraction crescendos from double-cautious to a rich, swelling chord. But if more than one set of controlling parents have their way, the music of their love could come to a shattering end.

A violin? What happened to guitars? Drums? Emo screaming?

Yeah, well, music is music and violins can make some damn good Rock Fiction. Just ask Lindsey Sterling and Lzzy Hale. Maybe it ain’t fiction but that? That is Rock and Roll with a violin.

Besides, we know Rock Fiction is a catch-all phrase. It ain’t even ours, so don’t come whining to me.

So now that we got this out of the way, let’s talk about the plot. Lots of musical references in here, so I’m hoping this means music plays a big role in the story, especially because it’s a male-male and you guys know those aren’t my favorites.